


Complicated

by miss_aligned



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Post-Mass Effect 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 01:43:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9944840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aligned/pseuds/miss_aligned
Summary: In the wake of Saren's defeat, there's a lot to talk about. From defying orders to stealing ships to solidifying relationships, things have a tendency to get messy. Kaidan, unfortunately, is caught in the middle of it all.





	

“So we’re done?” The eagerness to get out of the room was evident in Kaidan’s tone as he rolled his sleeve back down and rose to stand.

“Relax, lieutenant. You’ve just defeated Saren and nearly got crushed in the process. You could use some rest after all of that, don’t you think?” the doctor commented as he updated Kaidan’s medical file.

“Ahh yeah. I will. I need to handle some things first.” Hoisting his bag hurriedly on his shoulder, Kaidan almost ran out the door, hoping to catch Shepard before she disappeared. He wasn’t sure if she’d be whisked away to some other location for additional debriefing or if she’d slip out and find her own solace from the buzz and excitement of her accomplishment. Either was a possibility, but he hoped to track her down and catch her for a moment alone sooner rather than later.

He glanced at the many doors on either side as he quickly walked through the corridor to the main lobby of the hospital, hoping to find some indication of where she might be, but all seemed oddly quiet. The hustle and bustle when they’d arrived had most certainly died down. There were still people milling about and working, paying him little mind as he passed them, but the frantic pace had calmed considerably.

He hadn’t noticed the wreckage in the lobby when they’d first arrived. Stray bullets and shrapnel from the fallen reaper had strewn a jumble of broken glass and debris on the floor. Already, there was a man working to sweep up the mess before someone working in or visiting the hospital injured themselves, no doubt.

“Lieutenant,” another Alliance officer called. She was still neatly put together with a cleanly pressed uniform. Despite the chaos of the Citadel takeover and the destruction of Saren, only a few stray strands fallen from the neat bun in her hair gave any indication that it had been a very long day. She approached him quickly, expertly cutting off his access to the exit.

Kaidan sighed heavily. “Yes?”

She folded her hands in front of her body and stood rigidly before him giving a clear indication that she had no intention of moving out of his way. “You’ve been requested to remain here for a preliminary debriefing.”

Another sigh. He knew the Alliance all too well. ‘Requested’ was a less aggressive way to say what they really meant. The message was loud and clear. He wasn’t going to get to see Shepard any time soon and that fact, despite the unprecedented victory of the day, made his heart sink.

“Please wait in conference room B,” she continued, gesturing with a wave of her hand. “We’ll be with you shortly.”

Kaidan’s shoulders slumped ever so slightly. It wasn’t as though he was hesitant to talk about the battle with Saren, but he always disliked how Alliance brass made it seem like one was being held as a prisoner until deemed innocent enough to leave. It was then that he remembered that he’d been a part of hijacking an Alliance frigate. He swallowed a lump in his throat and turned to head down the hallway that the officer had indicated.

He wasn’t sure how much trouble he and the Normandy crew would be in if the Alliance decided to press charges. He might be given dishonorable discharge. His parents would be so terribly disappointed. He himself would have been also, but, now that he was thinking about it, he wouldn’t have done any of it differently. Hell, if he had, they might not be the victors right now. Quickly, the formulation of arguments began in his head. There was justification for the things they’d been forced to do, and he would stand behind the commander’s decisions.

So lost in thought was Kaidan that he hadn’t noticed the door that was open just a crack as he passed it by. A hand snaked out from the opening and grabbed his arm. Before he even realized what was happening, he was yanked inside, bewildered, and pushed against a wall.

Blue energy swept across his limbs for a moment before he found himself face to face with Commander Shepard, who happened to be sporting a devilish smirk at her ability to catch him by surprise. Taking a moment to glance around, he noticed a large table with a dozen empty chairs nearby, but no other people. Without a word, Kaidan dropped his bag and launched himself at her, enveloping the fearless woman in his arms and squeezing her tight in his relief.

“Hey,” she quietly whispered near his ear. “Glad to see you’re okay.”

“I thought you…” he began, clearing his throat when the words caught on his tongue. “I can’t believe you made it out of that unscathed.”

Shepard chuckled. “Maybe not unscathed, but yeah, I barely believe it myself.”

Kaidan pulled away and moved to take her hand. She hesitated and took a step back. Confusion washed over his mind and his features as he looked to her, wondering if he’d somehow made a mistake or overstepped his bounds.

“Kaidan,” she began, her voice shaking and barely above a whisper. “I understand that people do and say crazy things when they think the end is coming. Before we reached Ilos--”

“You regret the night we spent together?” He could feel heat rising in his skin. He was suddenly so embarrassed and hurt and shocked that he didn’t know how to react. He’d believed that it had been real. He’d hesitated for so long for fear that it wasn’t, after all. Now, hearing her call everything into question, he was completely stunned. All he knew was that he needed her to say the words so that he could move on. He’d been such a fool.

“No, of course not. I wouldn’t have traded that for anything in the galaxy.” She paused, dropping her eyes to the floor in a rather uncharacteristic show of meekness and frailty. “It meant everything to me.”

Now he was very perplexed. He knew her well enough to know that she was being genuine. He could see it on her face and hear it in her voice. He felt the same way, but that didn’t explain her hesitance in his presence. He wanted nothing more than to be with her and he could tell that she did, too. “I don’t understand--”

“I’m trying to give you a chance to walk away without consequence, Kaidan. I’d completely understand. I haven’t been a very good commander considering all of the rules I’ve broken to this point, and I’ve probably been an even worse girlfriend. If you wanted to end things here before I probably go to jail, I wouldn’t blame you.”

He nodded, finally wrapping his mind around what was troubling her. The embarrassment and surprise had subsided, leaving sympathy and understanding in their wake. As she stood there, wrapping her arms tightly around herself, getting red in the face because she was upset, he couldn’t help but smile. The use of the term ‘girlfriend’ even stirred a little fluttering feeling in his chest. She considered herself his girlfriend.

Kaidan stepped toward her and gently took her hand. She allowed it this time, and he could feel the trembling in her fingers. She was scared. Not willing to let her remain in such a state, he pressed his lips to the back of her hand and smiled to reassure her that it was okay. The slightest upward curl tugged at the edges of her mouth and he wrapped his arms around her once more. “I’m not going anywhere. And if you go to jail over this, then I hope our cells are right next to each other.”

A tiny burst of relieved laughter escaped her as they stood there intertwined and he savored the sound.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway and Kaidan knew that time was up. They were in for one hell of a debriefing, and it would be best if they didn’t tack the breaking of fraternization regulations onto their already insanely long list of offenses. He stole one tiny kiss before withdrawing and picking up his bag once more.

Shepard took a deep breath and composed herself just before the door slid open to reveal a good many Alliance officers on the other side, including the one that had stopped him from leaving earlier.

“Lieutenant Alenko,” she curtly addressed him. “You are supposed to be in conference room B.”

He put on the show of a lifetime. Sheepishly looking at the door and around at the room, he stammered and sputtered in false humiliation. “This isn’t the right room?”

She stepped aside to point him out the door, obviously rather unimpressed with his lack of sign reading skills. “Down the hall to the left.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he answered with a shamed bow of his head. He turned his head to Shepard for the briefest of moments, who had a completely unreadable and neutral expression on her face. That is, until he offered her a barely perceptible wink and he noticed her fighting off a smile. He adjusted the bag on his shoulder and hustled through the doorway. “My mistake.”


End file.
